The ramblings of a middle-aged man

Sea Cow Milk Stout by Saltwater Brewery

In my on going series of “Shelfies,” or local craft beers I can find at local liquor stores, I bring you Sea Cow Milk Stout from Saltwater Brewery in Delray Beach, Florida. I had to look up where Delray Beach was located since I’m new to Florida. It’s north of Ft. Lauderdale. Anyway, I know nothing about this brewery other than Total Wine had this in the local section, so let’s crack it!

Amazingly, I’ve had this beer before. Three years ago on one of our excursions to Florida for the heavy metal cruise, 70000 Tons of Metal, we stayed at Dania Beach in an AirBnB. There was a cool bar in Dania Beach called Bike Run and Brews. I don’t know if it’s still there since their web site is gone so my guess would be no. However, the theme was, of course, bicycles and beer. It had a cool ambiance. The only beer I had on tap, I believe, was Sea Cow. I know what I rated it, but let’s see if my memory is any good.

Sea Cow pours a nice opaque dark brown with a full, thick, and luscious foamy head that hangs around long after pouring. I love this in a beer. Swirling the beer reinvigorates the frothy head, which continues to linger. I really dig that.

I’m a sucker for marketing. If the bottle/can has a boat/ship or waves on it then I’ll probably buy it. Saltwater’s logo sucked me in. So that’s a plus. I know, I’m weak but it is what it is.

Saltwater says this about Sea Cow: “Named after our native Florida Manatee, the Sea Cow, who resides in the murky brackish waters of Florida. This milk stout has notes of roast and smoke that is balanced by the sweetness from the lactose used in the boil.

Keep in mind, this beer was canned on November 21, 2018, and today is March 15th as I write this. So…Total Wine strikes again.

Aroma is very roasty. Notes of bitter dark chocolate and dark malt. It’s not off-putting at all. Sea Cow, however, has a medium-bodied mouthfeel. It’s slick and highly carbonated. It’s bitter. Saltwater has created a dark, baker’s chocolate kind of bitterness. Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. It’s sweeter than a foreign export stout, but it’s close to being very similar in taste to Guinness. There’s some roastiness on the tongue as well. I’m finding that this beer is going down quite easily as I write this post. Generally, that’s a good sign. I don’t get any sweetness from Sea Cow. Perhaps that’s due to its age at this point. I’d like to try this fresh or on tap to be sure.

This is not the greatest milk stout I’ve ever had. But it does hit the spot today. Nicely done, Saltwater!